Life, Unraveling

Unraveling Life
Oil on canvas, 8x10, $125

A friend caught me at the grocery store this afternoon, dropping sections of the New York Times all over the floor. One slid, then the next, then three more, then she said hello and I dropped the rest. No matter. The paper is not so big any more.

This week, my friend said, had been tough. Her mom has to move to assisted living, her mother-in-law took ill, and her cat died. My friend was philosophical. We all get old, she said, and our parents all get old, and our pets all die, and none of that matters. What does matter is raising our children.

Peter and I have no children of our own - well, no two-legged children - but Erika, Peter's daughter, has become my daughter, too. It's not been an easy road, but the rewards are sweeter than I'd ever anticipated. And they include grandchildren and a son-in-law-to-be and a sweet granddaughter-to-be, and so I am blessed. My brother and sister have children, too, and so there are the blessings of nieces and nephews, as well.

Holidays remind me always of the people I love who are no longer here. I must remind myself to be thankful for the ones who are.